Part 10 Malhar
A House is made of Bricks and Beams
A Home is made of Hopes and Dreams.
~ Anon
Virenji and Tashi were excited to show Anjali and Devyani their palatial home. Virenji was a born story-teller; his baritone voice ebbed and flowed keeping his vocal rendition as interesting as the content, with dramatic pauses and subtle tonal variations when he wanted them to reflect on a statement or linger at an artifact. "Iss Haveli ka naam Malhar is liye hain kyon ki hamare purvaj Thakur Bhimsingh Rathodji, jinho ne iss Haveli ka nirmaan kiya, ve sangeet vishaarad te. Aur unka manpasand raag tha raag Malhar. Rag Malhar jo Sawan se judi jaati hain; aur garajte hue baadal, barasthe hue barish aur iss barsaat mein kil kilathi hui prakruti ka ehsas dilatha hai.' And thus began Virenji's narration starting right at the very beginning, with Malhar Haveli's inception.
Besides the scores of servants, gardeners and security guards that maintained the grounds and guarded the property, the household help included Hari Govind and Jai Govind who helped with anything and everything around the house. Rajendra the driver who had driven her from the airport primarily chauffeured Viren chacha around, while Madan was the second driver who was now placed at Anjali and Naaniji's disposal. The efficient and trust-worthy-all-in-all-Ramu Kaka was the acting chief for all of Malhar's janitorial and house-keeping staff, and Rajendra's wife, Sharadha bai, whom Anjali had acquainted herself with the previous night, had already cast her culinary spell on them.
Ramu kaka, she discovered was the only one who resided within the haveli. The Govind brothers, Madan, Rajendra, and Sharada, as well as the horse-trainer Suraj, and his two sons who were stable-hands, all lived in the quarters beyond the stables and racetrack, closer to the perimeter wall.
Ramu Kaka's wife had passed away and his only son Yash worked as a Chauffer for a rich sheik in Dubai where his wife was a nurse at a local hospital. Ramu kaka had tried to live with them for two years at his son's insistence, but could not adjust. He pined for the familiarity of Malhar haveli, and the sights and smells of his home-land. So he had returned back and had resolved to stay with the Rathod family till his last breath.
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The tour of Malhar haveli seemed to be a day long affair. The Haveli itself was huge and was built on about twenty-five to thirty acres of land. Although puzzled initially, Anjali soon thanked the wisdom of Sharada bai who had packed a large picnic hamper with food for them and for Rajendra, who was to drive them around the grounds of the haveli.
The haveli was built in the late 1800s and was about a hundred and fifty years old. It had four levels in all and over fifteen rooms all built of Jaisalmer stone, Marble, Jasper, as well as hand-carved Teak and adorned with beautiful hand-painted murals. Stained glass windows and antique crystal lamps retrofitted with electric bulbs filled its rooms with light and beauty. Anjali paid rapt attention to the detailed descriptions and family lore that Viren chacha related as he guided them through his ancestral home; her tradition loving spirit lapping it all up eagerly.
The entire haveli was unified in its indigenous use of materials and central theme of showcasing Rajasthan's ethnicity. At the same time, given the Haveli had grown organically with each generation adding floors and rooms or wings, the various modernization and trends of those times was reflected in the choice of building materials, furnishings and furniture, as well as the art work on the walls that ranged from religious and mythological paintings to modern inventions.
The Rathods had done an admirable job in the upkeep of their legacy, preserving the spirit and traditional handwork while unobtrusively adding modern amenities like air conditioning, Wi-Fi, Electricity, Gas, security/surveillance system and an ingenious system of retractable fibre glass dome and cross bars that closed off the tops of the inner courtyard at nights for security. The haveli even had central vaccum vents for easy-cleaning and an ultra silent elevator, whose exterior was modeled to look like an intricately carved Jharoka, and was intended to speed the elders in comfort between the various floors.
Anjali realized that Ajay had subtly left his finger-prints all over the haveli in the form of these luxuries that technology brought with it.
"This place is truly a blend of the best of what modern and traditional worlds have to offer. A heaven on earth! Ooh! I am not sure if this tour was a good idea after all. I am falling in love with this place with every step I take. I am going to miss this when I go back to Delhi" thought Anjali with a pang.
Her mental list of things-reserved-for-detailed-scrutiny had grown to be at least five pages long.
Anjali had sighed and drooled over the countless murals painted over the years. She even recognized Ajay's works in some rooms. She resolved to explore and study each one later at leisure all by herself. The Grand foyer on the ground floor showcased the family portraits of the Rathods including their youngest member, Tashi.
Tashi had introduced her to her mom - Mrinalini's picture. "She was indeed a beautiful woman. Tashi will grow to look a lot like her." Thought Anjali, ruffling Tashi's hair; happy that the child had only fond memories of her mom and was not sad while speaking of her.
The library on the third floor was a book lover's paradise. It housed collector's editions and first print editions of literary masterpieces through the generations.
"Yeh mera sabse favorite room hai." Tashi declared in delight.
The erst while dance hall on the third floor was converted into a multi-media theater and another large room across from it was remodelled into Ajay's gym. Chachaji, Naaniji and Tashi's rooms where on the ground floor while Ajay and Anjali had the ones on the first floor. The second and third floor housed several rooms that were locked up unless guests needed to be accommodated. The grand sweeping stairways and marbled corridors and walkways, spoke of the wealth and splendor that this family had seen through the ages.
The very top was an open marble floored terrace, bare on all sides save the eastern side, were a long structure housed Ajay's studio making up the fourth floor. The studio had a wall of windows along its eastern and western walls to let in plenty of natural light, an adjoining changing room for the models and a fully functional bedroom and bath for Ajay to crash into on the weeks that he painted without a thought of day or night.
"Solar panels on the roof of this entire structure to harvest the plentiful solar energy, brilliant Mr. Rathod." And Anjali mentally chalked up several points in his favor. Naani was of course familiar with the haveli and could easily spot the changes that had occurred in the past fifteen years.
The tour of the grounds took up the remainder of the day and Naani was thankful for the interior roads that enabled them to travel in the comfort of their car. The northern side of the haveli had a large pool, which was designated exclusively for women in the olden days, Naniji explained. It was well screened from external roving-eyes by tall trees of Eucalyptus, Peepal and Neem trees, not to mention the thorny climbing roses creeping along the outer boundaries and a thicket of bushes. The library that was remodeleld at a later date was probably the only structure with a couple of windows overlooking the pool.
Behind the Haveli. the back yard consisted of a huge screened porch built around the existing century old Neem and Kajira trees. Beyond that was a tennis court and basket ball court of modern days that had been immaculately designed and cleverly placed amidst tall palms and flame of the forest trees, so as not to stick out as a sore-thumb. Past the Tennis court, stretched several hundred yards of manicured lawns and gardens of every type, Fruit garden, Floral, Rose, Zen and Herbal gardens which were multi-level to break the monotony and were punctuated with various water bodies, be it fountains or gurgling mini waterfalls.
"Kitne parivaaron ko aapke in gardens ki wajah se rozi roti mil rahi hogi chachaji" exclaimed Anjali, mentally picturing her chotte and his delight at the sight of the Rathod's backyard.
They drove around the gardens and reached the naturally vegetated areas of the haveli grounds. The two were separated by stone walls lined on both sides with palm trees. The walls served to keep the deer from entering and feasting on the lawn, but had gate ways to permit foot traffic as well as the haveli cars.
After driving for a little while, they reached the center of the woods and stopped mid-way between two lakes. One was natural, the other man-made. The natural one on the eastern side was larger of the two and at its very center stood a magnificent temple of about two thousand square foot, built of Jaisalmer stones and sandstone. It glowed golden in the late afternoon sun and reflected in the sparkling waters of the lake. Marble stepping stone pathways enclosed with intricate metal railings led from each of the four directions to the temple that housed a marble idol of Lord Shiva with his consorts Ganga and Parvati.
The western man-made lake was a mirror image of the eastern one, albeit smaller, and held in its center a fabulous marble gazebo, in the center of which a peacock was currently strutting around much to Tashi's joy.
"This place would look magical in moon-light." Anjali thought.
"Ee tho hume yaad naahin hain Viren" queried Devyani.
"Yeh bas pichle che mehine pahle Ajay ne banvayi thi. Apna Nitin ka design hain. Jab khabhi Ajay ko chein ki zaroorat hoti hai, yehaan par aake samay bitate hain. Iske aage bas unke ghoden, aur unka race track hai. Aur poora grounds pachees foot ki deewaron ke andar, bilkul surakshit hain."
"Hanh Panditji, namaste." He called out and glancing at his watch said, "Lagta hai shaam ki arti ka waqt hogaya hain. Chaliyen Panditji se mil lete hain."
Virenji hastened with folded hands towards the pandit who was alighting from his scooter and introduced him to Devyani and Anjali.
Meanwhile, not too far off, Ajay finished brushing down Atticus. They had ridden hard and Atticus was now gulping down his oats with a laser-focus. Physical exertion stemming from the ride had cleared away some of Ajay's resentment and he had lingered around expecting Anjali to pass by along with Viren chacha, Naniji and Tashi. One look at his watch and he concluded that the family was running late and would not make it to the stables. Hearing the temple bells, he decided to join them there.
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Anjali was in her element the minute she stepped into the mandir. The beautiful face of the lord filled her with peace. She took the pooja-ka-thal that was handed to her and proceeded with the Arti, her eyes reflecting her faith and trust in the almighty, her face angelic, and her sweet voice singing out the verses with perfect diction.
This was the sight that arrested Ajay as he stepped into the temple. The rays of the setting sun seemed to spotlight her throwing everyone else in the shadows and he simply stood still and watched.
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PS: Could not resist creating a pair of 'Govind' brothers over here 😉
PPS: Turns out I have a thing for retractable fiber glass and retractable tempered glass. sigh!
Cricket
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